


It's All So Simple

by notarelationship (justpracticing)



Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-11
Updated: 2016-02-11
Packaged: 2018-05-19 17:07:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5974990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justpracticing/pseuds/notarelationship
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While going through his mother’s papers after her death, Blaine Anderson discovers hospital paperwork for a girl born the same day as him, in the same hospital in New York City. His investigation into the baby leads him to his twin sister, Rachel Berry, and her roommate Kurt Hummel. Blaine has to navigate his feelings over his new sister, complicated by her best friend who he might be falling for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's All So Simple

**Author's Note:**

> My first Big Bang! Super special thanks to my beta darriness, who put up with the completely upside down way this story came out and knocked me into shape (any remaining mistakes are mine to own), and the amazing masturblaining, who made some gorgeous for this that you can find on tumblr (I will link to it here if I can figure out how to do that).

Blaine hadn’t planned to move back to New York, at least not then. 

Los Angeles didn’t have quite the varied club scene that New York did, but after four years at UCLA and a few more working as a studio musician and a month long gig as the music director for critic favorite Mercedes Jones’s two week showcase, the work was finally steady. He didn’t really need the money to get by, but it was nice to have all the same, and it was nicer to work. Blaine liked people and he liked helping and he liked to make music. That success in all of these things was finally happening, and all at the same time, felt like a gift.

The call from the hospital came in the afternoon. His mother’s housekeeper had found his mother unconscious on the kitchen floor, and she had been brought in through the emergency room. Preliminary results suggested a brain aneurysm that was leaking or possibly ruptured. Could he come right away? Blaine was on the next flight to New York City.

It was almost eight a.m. by the time he made it to the nurse’s station in the intensive care unit. He waited for the nurse behind the desk to hang up the phone.

“Hi. I’m looking for Shelby Corcoran? I understand she was brought in here yesterday?” He tapped his fingers on the counter.

“What’s your name?” She asked him.

“Blaine Anderson. I’m her son.”

The nurse checked a list and then nodded. “Okay,” she said. “Follow me.”

Blaine followed her to a semi-private area, with four beds each separated by heavy hospital curtains. The room was dark, the flashing lights and low beeping in the room underscoring the serious atmosphere.

“She was awake briefly overnight,” the nurse said quietly. “I’ll call the doctor and he can give you her prognosis.”

Blaine nodded absently, sitting carefully in the hospital issue chair next to the bed. He had seen her two months ago, at Christmas. She seemed fine. She was going to come out to visit the next time he performed. There were IV’s and wires sticking out of her hand, but Blaine held it in his anyway. 

“Mom?”

\--

The funeral was quick. There were more people than Blaine expected, and so many that he didn’t know, but then he hadn’t lived in New York for nearly six years. And his mother had always had a very active social life. They didn’t have much family, just a great aunt and a few cousins who lived in Jersey City, but Blaine hadn’t seen them since he was five. He didn’t really expect to see them again after this.

His mother owned an apartment in the West Village, but Blaine didn’t grow up there, so it wasn’t home. He wasn’t sure he wanted to spend his time in New York alone, so when his best friend Sam offered him the extra room in his apartment in Murray Hill he said yes. 

In the end, it wound up taking a few months to settle his mother’s affairs. She’d had a will, and other than some charitable disbursements Blaine was the only beneficiary. His mother had been successful in her life, and Blaine, always comfortable before, wouldn’t have to worry about money. So when Sam suggested he stay with him until he could clean out his mother’s apartment and decide what to do with it, he said yes. He didn’t have any open obligations in Los Angeles, so after one visit to move out of the apartment he had there, he was back in New York until further notice.

\--

~4 months later~

The door slammed shut when Blaine let go and let out a surprised gasp. “Shit Sam.”

“Sorry man,” Sam apologized. “I forgot to call the super about that.”

“It’s OK,” Blaine said. “I can call him Monday.” He watched Sam as he walked to their small kitchen. “Could you bring me some juice?” Blaine went back to the box open on the coffee table in front of him.

He had thought that he’d finished going through his mother’s things a month ago. Her will had cleared probate quickly, with no challenges, and all the property was settled. He hadn’t really cleaned out her apartment yet, but he still wasn’t sure whether he was going to live there or sell it. And he liked rooming with Sam, he had a big apartment by New York City standards; they each had their own room and there was a bathtub, not just a shower. And Sam traveled so much for his job that Blaine never really had the chance to feel trapped or overwhelmed or sick of having a roommate. 

“What’s that?” Sam dropped onto the couch next to where Blaine had made himself comfortable on the floor. 

Blaine twisted the cap of his juice. “My mom’s lawyer sent this over this morning.”

Sam dug under a couch pillow for the TV remote, turning on a Knicks game with the sound off. “I thought you went through all of her papers already?”

“So did I. But her lawyer said this were in a safe deposit box that he hadn’t known about before. He didn’t look at anything inside, but he wanted me to go through in case there was anything timely he had to deal with.” Blaine shrugged and pulled out a stack of papers, skimming through them to make sure there was nothing he or the lawyer needed to deal with. “I told him I’d go through it this weekend.” Sam turned his attention back to the Knicks game.

“Hey bro,” Sam broke several minutes of silence, pointing at the television. “I met that guy at a party last week.” Blaine made a noncommittal noise. “I think he’s gay. I think I could hook you up.”

Sam was had been Blaine’s best friend for years, and he was always looking out for him in all the ways that made sense to Sam, but occasionally they didn’t make a lot of sense to Blaine. He turned a questioning look at Sam. “What? Why?”

“You didn’t even look at him. He’s good looking.” Sam gestured toward the TV. 

“Why would I – how did you even meet him?” Sam put his hand on top of Blaine’s head and turned it toward the television. “There are like ten guys running all over, how am I supposed to know which one you are - ” At that moment the camera zoomed in on a slim, muscled guy, with tattoos all up and down both arms.

“That one. And these guys come to all the runway shows. They like free clothes and hot models.” Sam shrugged. “He hit on me but he’s not really my type.”

“Oh.” Blaine looked at the TV for a minute. “He is cute. I don’t know about the tattoos though.” 

Sam rolled his eyes. “Dude, don’t even try that. You like Adam Levine for fucks sake.”

Blaine felt his neck flush right up to the bottoms of his ears. “Ok but, I don’t, I mean - ” He made a frustrated noise. “I’m not really looking for anything right now. I don’t even know how long I’m going to stay in New York.” He went back to his box of papers.

“Not this again Blaine. I know you didn’t plan to come back here, and the circumstances sucked, but you are not going back to California, you don’t even like it out there. And I like having you as a roommate, and I don’t want to find another one. You bake a lot and I’ve never woken up to your underwear on the kitchen counter and some people just don’t get my sense of humor, and you do. I’m not saying you have to make babies with this guy, but you do need to get laid. You’ve become a recluse and you need to get out and enjoy yourself.” He slapped Blaine on the shoulder. “You’ve gotten through the hard bits. It’s time to start taking care of yourself now.”

Blaine rubbed both hands over his face. Sam wasn’t wrong, but he’d been so busy with his mother’s quick illness and the funeral, and then all the things that come after that no one really prepares you for. Money hadn’t been a problem, but he hadn’t really given any thought to what was going to happen next. Where did he want to live? Did he need to find a job? What would that even be? 

“OK.” Sam’s face lit up. “No, no, not that guy.” Blaine waved at the television. “My friend Mercedes invited me to a party she’s having at some new club opening on Friday night. We can go dance and have some fun.”

Sam schooled his face into a serious expression. “Hmm. Who is this Mercedes and how do you know her? And will there be attractive men there looking to distract you?”

Blaine laughed. “Yes, probably. It’s at a club in Brooklyn. And I did some music direction for her last year in Los Angeles. She turned a one-night cabaret showcase into a month long residency and she was really great. Great singer, great to work with. I like her a lot.”

“Awesome. I am an excellent gay-wingman,” Sam said, standing. “And don’t forget I’m leaving Saturday for Italy, so the place will be yours for the next few weeks. In case you meet someone and want to get your freak on uninterrupted.”

“You’re an asshole.” Blaine shook his head, laughing. “Now can I please get back to this?” He waved a hand over the mystery box.

“Alright, fine. I just came home to shower anyway. I have to go meet my agent at some club opening.”

Once Sam was finally out of the apartment and no longer distracting him, Blaine sat back on the floor with a cup of tea to finish the job he’d barely started when Sam had interrupted him. The papers were mostly old leases, from apartments his mother had lived in when she was younger, before Blaine was born, a marriage license from his mother’s short-lived marriage to David Anderson and the accompanying divorce papers, an envelope stamped with the logo of the hospital where he was born. There were some ancient stock certificates that Blaine couldn’t imagine had any significant value and a copy of his mother’s birth certificate. The rest were old letters and papers and some pictures of people he couldn’t identify and he didn’t feel like he needed to save. 

He kept the marriage and divorce paperwork and his mother’s birth certificate to keep in his own box of “important papers,” and put the stock paperwork into an envelope for his mother’s attorney to decide if there was anything worth investigating. His mother hadn’t mentioned anything strange about his birth, but the hospital envelope was thick, so Blaine pulled everything out and unfolded them carefully, smoothing them flat on the table. Maybe he had some health issue he should be aware of?

Blaine had heard tales from the day he was born from his mom like any other kid. On his birthday, when he was little, she would sit him on her lap and tell him about how, unlike what everyone had told her would happen, she didn’t realize she was in labor, and by the time she’d figured out what was happening and called his father, she’d had to go down to the street and catch a cab on her own. She’d told him how short the labor was, and how happy she’d been when they put him in her arms not long after he was born. He’d already known that his parent’s marriage didn’t last long, and that he dies when Blaine was still a baby. And in the long run that hadn’t mattered at all. Blaine had a great life and his mother had been able to provide plenty of opportunities for him along the way.

Looking at the papers brought all the memories back, not unhappily. He looked over the admission paperwork, and the assorted privacy statements and patient rights paperwork that were standard handouts. There was a blue tinted hospital notice of his birth, with “Baby Boy – April 17, 1996, 6:19 PM” stamped across the middle that made Blaine smile. His mother said it had taken her a few days to decide on his name. He decided to keep the informal notice. Underneath that there was a pink tinted notice. Blaine frowned and picked it up. It looked just like the one for him, only stamped across the middle he read “Baby Girl – April 17, 1996, 6:43 PM.”

Blaine swallowed and could feel his heart beating triple time. Babygirlbabygirlbabygirl.

A million possible scenarios popped into Blaine’s head all at the same time. Did this mean he’d had a twin? His mother had never mentioned that. Was she still alive? How could his mother have kept something like this from him all these years? Blaine shuffled the remaining papers, looking for anything that might shed some light on this. The next few pages were more generic hospital paperwork, including an insurance form listing the birth as a twin birth. A boy and a girl. Why hadn’t she said anything?

He kept digging, coming across something with Birth Parent Registration Form across the top. He couldn’t stop his hands from shaking as he read it. It was a photocopy listing his mother and father as the birth parents, but no name for the other baby – just “Baby Girl Anderson.” 

“I need a drink.” Blaine kicked back from the table and rummaged through the cabinet where he was sure one of Sam’s friends left bottles of something a few weeks ago, after one of Sam’s Star Wars marathon parties. “Bingo.” He pulled half a bottle of cheap whisky out and poured a large amount into a glass, knocking it back in two gulps. 

It was after nine, but he had his mother’s attorney’s number, so he sent him a text asking if it was possible to speak with him tonight. Next he whipped off a text to Sam.

Blaine: Found something really weird. If you’re not having a great time can you cut out early?

Sam: How weird?

Blaine: I have a twin.

Sam: What???

Blaine: A twin. Sister. Come home so I can freak out.

Sam: On my way. This party sucks anyway.

While we was texting with Sam the lawyer had texted back that he was with a client, but that he could call at 11 if that wasn’t too late. Blaine let him know that would be fine.

\--

Blaine was pacing a hole in the apartment floor by the time Sam got home, even though it was only half an hour later.

“Oh my god Sam, thank you for coming so fast,” Blaine slurred a little and flung his arms around Sam. “I’m freaking out.”

“I can see that,” he said, gingerly taking the now empty bottle of whiskey out of Blaine’s hand. “How much of this did you have?”

Blaine shrugged like he didn’t understand Sam. “Whatever was in there.”

Sam dropped the bottle in the recycling bin and poured Blaine a large glass of water. “Here buddy, drink this and start at the beginning.”

Blaine drank his water and told Sam what he’d found, and that he was waiting for the lawyer to call him back. 

“So what are you going to do? If it’s true and you have a twin sister out there somewhere?” Sam asked.

Blaine leaned back against the couch, practically melting into it. “I don’t know. I think I’d want to find her. You know? I don’t have a lot of family left, and I’m not close to the ones that are still around.” He sighed and stared at this phone. Willing the lawyer to call. “I don’t really know what to think yet.”

“I wonder what she looks like?” Sam mused.

“What? Why?”

“Well, if she’s the female you, and she’s hot, I mean – you’re my best friend, and I love you, but I can’t date you.”

“Well you could date me,” Blaine interrupted. Sam had always been cool with Blaine’s low-key crush on him, and Blaine knew he was trying to distract him by being ridiculous, and he was grateful for it. “You’re just ‘not gay’ or whatever.” Blaine rolled his eyes, emphasizing with finger quotes around ‘not gay.’

Sam laughed. “Yeah dude, whatever, but I could date the female version of you. I could date your twin sister!”

Blaine blinked hard, thinking. “No.” He shook his head. “You cannot date my twin sister. That would be way too weird for me. No. Not Okay.”

“Yeah, well, we’ll see,” Sam said. “Hey, have you eaten anything? I mean aside from that half a bottle of Wild Turkey.” Blaine shook his head. “You should eat. And I should eat.” Sam grabbed his keys. “I’ll run down to the diner while you wait for your phone call,” he offered. “And no more booze until after you talk to the lawyer.”

The lawyer didn’t have anything helpful for Blaine. He hadn’t looked in the box, and he didn’t know about the adoption. And since he hadn’t become his mother’s lawyer until Blaine was in high school, and didn’t have any first hand experience with any of the information. He did take the name of the lawyer on the registration form, and promised he’d start researching it first thing in the morning.

\--

By Thursday the lawyer still didn’t have any news for him beyond letting him know that he had found the lawyer who had worked on the adoption, and was waiting to hear back from him so he could explain the situation. By Friday night, Blaine was definitely ready for a night out to burn off some stress and try to relax.

The club was in Brooklyn, and Sam was running his usual fifteen minutes late, so Blaine stood waiting around near the VIP line. He had confirmed earlier with Mercedes that he was on the list, which had turned out to be a good thing, as the line to get in was wrapped around the corner and didn’t seem to be moving too quickly. 

“Dude that is a huge line,” Sam said, walking up behind Blaine.

“Yeah, but we’re on the list. Follow me.” Blaine walked up to the tacky yet traditional red velvet rope that sectioned off the VIP line and the three bouncers hovering in the area, and gave his name to the woman holding a clipboard. “We should be on Mercedes Jones’ list. She’s supposed to be hosting a party here tonight?” 

The hostess looked bored, but confirmed their invite status and gave them both wristbands before letting them through the ropes. At the top of the few stairs they had to climb to get in, there was a window with a sign over it that said “Private Parties” so Blaine ducked his head toward the glass and asked the attendant where he could find the Jones party. 

“Blaine! Come here cutie!” Mercedes appeared from seemingly out of nowhere, immediately grabbing him into an enthusiastic hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I’m so happy you came!” She nodded over Blaine’s shoulder. “Who’s your friend?”

“Mercedes, this is my best friend and roommate, Sam Evans. Sam, this is my good friend Mercedes Jones.” Blaine gestured between his two friends.

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Sam said, shaking Mercedes’ hand. “Blaine talks about you all of the time. I hope I get a chance to hear you sing while you’re in New York.”

Mercedes smiled big at Sam. “I hope so too, and I’m working on that,” she said, waiting until Sam had passed her to whisper in Blaine’s ear. “Please tell me he’s straight.”

Blaine laughed and tucked Mercedes arm through his. “As an arrow.”

Mercedes lead them through the club, into a private room in the back fully outfitted for a private party with a separate bar, couches, and the music a shade quieter so you could actually have a conversation with someone.

“Let me introduce you to everybody.” Mercedes turned them around toward the small group. “Everybody, this is Blaine and Sam. Blaine was my musical director in L.A. last year and he’s relocated to New York.” Everyone waved and Sam wandered over to the group, but Mercedes tugged Blaine down into one of the comfy looking chairs. “So how are you doing honey? I feel like we haven’t talked in ages.”

Blaine shrugged. “That’s probably my fault.” Mercedes started to protest, but he went on. “It is, really. After my mom died I had so many things to take care of I really just kind of holed up and dealt with things.”

“Wasn’t there any other family that could help you?”

“Not really, not for the big stuff. She has a couple of cousins and a great aunt in Jersey City, but she had cut ties with that side of her family a long time ago, and they hadn’t been in touch in a long time. Everything she had she left to me.”

“I am sorry Blaine.” She leaned in and gave him an extra long hug.

“Thanks.” He managed a smile. He was going to hold off on talking about the long lost twin sister until he knew more. He was here to have fun and blow off some steam. “I got through it. And I had Sam to remind me to eat and be a person now and then.” 

Mercedes laughed. “Well, at least someone was taking care of you. And someone nice to look at too.” 

“Oh, very nice. That is definitely true.” Blaine caught Mercedes staring at Sam across the room. “He’s a model, you know.” She turned her gaze back to Blaine and raised an eyebrow. “Mmm hmm. He’s actually leaving tomorrow to do some runway shows in Europe for Tom Ford.”

“Oh my god, don’t tell Kurt. He’ll never let him go.”

“Kurt?”

Mercedes looked over to the group Sam had been talking to. “Nice hair? In the red vest.” The guy she was talking about had separated Sam from the rest of the group and appeared to have him in an in depth conversation. He was looking at Sam a little like he might like to have him for lunch.

“Maybe we should go rescue them from each other. I don’t think Sam knows anything about the clothes themselves other than that he has to wear them,” Blaine said.

Blaine followed Mercedes over, and she introduced him to Kurt and the other girls who were standing there, all of whom Mercedes said were friends from high school. 

“Blaine,” Sam pulled him over to where Kurt was standing. “Kurt has a lot of questions about Tom Ford that I actually can’t answer. Maybe you can help?” Then Sam winked at him, not subtly, and wandered off towards the bar to chat with Mercedes. Kurt stared after him.

“You’re sure he’s straight?” Kurt asked.

“Yes.” Blaine laughed. “I have sadly been there and not done that.” Kurt turned toward Blaine and laughed.

“How long have you two been friends?”

Blaine turned to face him. 

“We met when I was in college, so around five years?” Now that Blaine had a chance to see Kurt up close, Blaine was struck by how good-looking he was.

“Oh yeah? Where did you go to school?” 

Kurt had very nice blue eyes.

“Um, I uh,” Blaine tripped over his words a little. “I went to UCLA. But I actually met Sam when we were off-campus roommates in my sophomore year. He wasn’t a student, but I wanted to live in a house by the beach, even though it was pretty far from campus. I felt like if I was going to live in California I had to live near the beach at some point, right?” Kurt agreed, sipping his drink. “Sam pretty much just surfed and played beach volleyball, but I think that’s when he started doing modeling gigs. We didn’t really become friends until after a year or so of being roommates.”

Kurt sat down on the arm of the chair next to Blaine. He seemed genuinely interested when he asked, “Oh yeah? Why’s that?”

Blaine looked over at his best friend. “Seriously? We lived on the beach. Sam pretty much never wore anything other than board shorts and walked around the house shirtless. Every time I tried to talk to him about anything my tongue felt about thirty sizes too big for my mouth and all I could do was stutter out questions about taking out the trash.” Kurt’s laugh was sweet and understanding, so Blaine went on. “I mean, I would never want to make a guy uncomfortable on purpose, but I’m only human, and Sam is, well, Sam.” Blaine shrugged.

“Mmm hmm,” Kurt hummed. They both looked over at Sam then, where he was engaged in an animated discussion with Mercedes, who was laughing and looking absolutely smitten. 

“He’s a good guy,” Blaine assured him. 

Before Kurt could respond to that one of Mercedes’ friends came over and tugged Kurt on the elbow. “Come on Kurt, enough chatting up Slick here, we came here to celebrate. Let’s dance.” 

A bouncy blonde tugged Blaine by the hand. “Santana doesn’t really think your name is Slick,” she said. “Is your name Slick?” 

Blaine laughed. “It’s Blaine.”

“She’s Santana. I’m Brittany,” she said, smiling big. “Let’s dance, Blaine.”

So they did. In pairs, in a group, with each other and with strangers there having a good time. More than once an attractive guy would slide in between Blaine and his dance partner, offering up the possibility of more than dancing with hands and obvious body language. Blaine wasn’t sure yet what he wanted to do about that, but he had to admit that Sam had been right about getting out. He was feeling better than he had in awhile, like fun wasn’t completely out of reach any more, and it was nice to be wanted, even if it came to nothing.

At one point he found himself dancing with Santana, who was an excellent dancer. They stuck together for a few dances, until she noticed someone on the floor paying too much attention to Brittany and made a beeline towards the offender. Blaine was about to pick up with a random partner when he felt a light touch on his shoulders and a body close behind him. When he turned Kurt shifted out of his space, but slid a hand from his shoulder to his bicep.

“I’m going to go back and get a drink and sit a few out. Care to join me?” Blaine nodded. A drink sounded good.

They got drinks and Kurt sat heavily on a small couch, patting the cushion for Blaine to sit next to him. 

“So what are you celebrating?” he asked Kurt. “Santana said this was supposed to be a celebration.”

Kurt grinned, excited. “Ooh! Two things. First, I got into the graduate program I wanted.”

“Oh yeah, where?”

“Tisch, Musical Theater.” Blaine whistled, impressed. “It’ll be hard. Really hard. But it’s what I want, and it will keep me disciplined until someone discovers me singing on a street corner and insists I quit school to star in their original musical about the life of Thomas Paine.” 

Blaine couldn’t help laughing. Kurt’s sarcasm hit just the right note for him tonight. Not sweet, but not serious either. “And second?”

“Oh.” Kurt almost blushed and waved his hand as if brushing the topic away. “I finally broke up with an asshole boyfriend. It was a couple of weeks ago, actually, but Santana thinks it’s important to mark those sorts of significant life changes. With alcohol.” Kurt raised his drink and sucked the straw into his mouth. Blaine could’ve sworn he could see his tongue curl around it. He blinked. “What about you Blaine? What are you celebrating?”

“Uh.” Blaine averted his gaze, looking into his own drink. “Um, nothing actually. Sam thought I’d been becoming a bit of a recluse lately, and kept insisting that we go out and do something. And when Mercedes texted me that she was in town and having this party it seemed like as good a reason as any to get out and have some fun.” It wasn’t hard to smile when Kurt looked at him.

Kurt contemplated him for a few long seconds, and for a moment Blaine was sure he was going to ask what he’d been hiding away from, but he didn’t.

“So how do you know Mercedes again?” Kurt looked up as the bartender set two new drinks on the table next to them. 

“I worked with her on her showcase in L.A. I was her music director.”

“Oh my god!” Kurt exclaimed. “That’s why your name seemed so familiar. Mercedes talked about you all the time. She loved working with you. You were in the pictures of her with the band.”

Blaine nodded. “Yes I was. It was a good band, if I do say so myself.”

“You put them together, of course.” Kurt dropped a hand to Blaine’s wrist on the back of the couch and left it there.

“Of course.” Blaine held onto Kurt’s gaze. He really did have beautiful eyes. And nice hair. And he seemed really interested in what Blaine was saying. It might have been the alcohol, just a little, but Kurt was obviously having fun tonight, and Blaine was finding it irresistible. Or he was finding Kurt irresistible. Maybe Kurt wouldn’t want to resist him either. Maybe Sam had been right. Maybe he just needed to get out there, relax, meet someone. “What about you, Kurt? What do you do for work when you’re not being a student or dumping an asshole ex?”

Kurt shifted away slightly, making Blaine frown, but then he settled further back onto the couch and turned back toward Blaine. “I actually have a regular gig singing at a club, with my roommate. Standards, Broadway stuff. Whatever we can come up with.”

“Wow, that’s great! I’ll have to come and hear you sing.” Blaine was sure he would enjoy that. Kurt’s speaking voice was pretty unique. “What’s the club?”

“It’s called Finales.” Kurt rolled his eyes. “Whatever, it’s a regular show, and it’s near-ish to the Broadway area so sometimes we get other performers and some Broadway people. I think the owner is trying to make it a Broadway hangout, but it takes time to turn something into a hip place.” Kurt sighed. “But it’s performing, in front of people, and that’s always good.

“It doesn’t pay great but it’s pretty secure. And we have a long term commitment from the club owners.” Kurt raised his eyebrows in a question. “Do you want to come by the club? see if they have some extra spots? They’re always looking for up and coming performers. If you don’t have any other commitments, of course.”  
“Wow, um, that actually sounds great. I don’t actually have too many commitments right now.” Or any commitments, but he didn’t need to tell Kurt that. 

They spent some more time talking, and a few drinks later they found themselves back on the dance floor, swapping partners with Santana and Brittney then winding up back together at some point. Kurt put his hands on Blaine’s waist, tugging him closer.

“You should dance with me.” Blaine had his hands pressed against Kurt’s chest, but he wasn’t sure whether it was to keep from falling onto Kurt, or to keep Kurt from falling onto him. 

“I am dancing with you.” Blaine moved his hands until they curled over Kurt’s shoulders, and Kurt tugged him closer still. His hands weren’t on Blaine’s ass yet, but they were headed there. Blaine put his arms around Kurt’s neck.

Kurt leaned in, and Blaine shivered when Kurt’s mouth brushed past his ear. “No, I mean just with me. Don’t dance with anyone else. Just me.” 

Blaine nosed up the side of Kurt’s neck. “Hmmm, okay.”

That was all it took. Kurt palmed Blaine’s ass with one hand and spread the other across his shoulder blades. Blaine groaned to himself and just moved closer. They weren’t grinding, exactly, but they weren’t far from it. He had a vague thought that he might not be doing this if he were a bit more sober, but he ignored it. 

He looked at Kurt, he was gorgeous and he felt good and he smelled great and he wasn’t even a total stranger, since he knew Mercedes and Mercedes did not associate with people who were not worth her time. And it had been months since he’d let himself have any real fun.

They were connected everywhere but their mouths, but Blaine knew that was coming, He wanted badly to kiss Kurt, and Kurt kept staring at his mouth.

“Blaine?” Blaine tucked his face into Kurt’s neck, humming. “Don’t want to be too forward, but would you maybe like to get out of here? With me? My apartment’s not far from here.” 

Blaine let the alcohol have what it wanted and sucked a wet kiss into Kurt’s neck; he could feel Kurt relaxing against him. “I’d really like that, Kurt.”

Kurt looked at him, grinning. “Can Sam get home on his own? I’m afraid if we go back there we’ll never get out.”

“Sam’s fine, let's go.”

After a pit stop in the men’s room (and boy was Blaine glad Kurt hadn’t suggested hooking up there. Not that he’d never done a random club hookup, but this one was a mess and there were already a few guys in various stages of getting their grope on. It was just a bit too public for him), Blaine followed Kurt outside, texting Sam that he would see him back at the apartment tomorrow. His phone buzzed when they were out on the sidewalk. Have a good time! ;D

The trip to the bathroom had taken the edge off a bit for Blaine, but it didn’t keep him from stumbling a bit on his way to the corner with Kurt to get a cab. He curled on hand around Kurt’s arm for leverage, and to be closer. Once they had climbed into the backseat and Kurt had given the driver instructions, he put a hand on Blaine’s knee and leaned into Blaine’s space.

“I wanna kiss you.” Kurt slurred a little.

Blaine put his hand on Kurt’s neck and pulled him in. “Okay.”

Kurt’s mouth was wet and eager and he tasted like sugar and fruit and alcohol and kissed sloppily and with his tongue everywhere and Blaine couldn’t get enough. He didn’t know if he was spinning from Kurt or from the alcohol (spinning was bad, right?) but he let it take him over anyway and then Kurt was pulling him out of the cab and pushing toward a building and he couldn’t remember if he had just kissed Kurt all the way home, or if maybe he had passed out a little. 

Once they were through the door, Blaine pushed Kurt up against it. He didn’t go home with strangers often, but when he did he didn’t see much sense in holding back. Kurt didn’t seem to mind Blaine pressing against him, pushing his tongue into Kurt’s mouth, tugging at his tie, pulling the buttons of his vest. 

“Kurt,” he gasped, breaking away to talk before he just didn’t want to anymore. “Before we go any further, I need to ask - ” Blaine nipped at Kurt’s neck, kissed across his jaw, then pushed back and put a hand to Kurt’s chest. “We’re both a little drunk.” Kurt hummed, his mouth against Blaine’s neck, tugging at his belt with surprising dexterity. “You’ll say no, if you don’t, if you don’t want to do something?”

Kurt’s hands were tugging at Blaine’s shirt, pulling it from the open waistband of his pants. Blaine shuddered closer as Kurt’s hands moved over his bared skin until they reached his face, kissing him sloppy and hard. “’M good, have all my senses.” For emphasis he pulled Blaine by his hips, grinding against him.

Blaine kissed him hard, tongue pushing into his willing mouth. “Good,” he tugged open Kurt’s belt, popping the button and pulling down the zipper. He worked his hand onto Kurt’s pants, rubbing over his almost hard cock. “Because I didn’t come here for something we could do at the bar with our clothes on.” Kurt laughed, and Blaine pulled him away from the wall, guiding him toward the couch he spied in the living room. 

“No, no,” Kurt stopped him. Blaine shook himself, wondering if in his own drunken haze he’d misunderstood. Kurt didn’t stop though, pulling him in for another kiss. “Rachel hates when I have sex on the couch.” Kurt pulled Blaine down the hall by the front of his shirt. “Bedroom.”

“Rachel?” 

“Roommate.” Kurt pushed Blaine onto the bed, tugging at his pants. “She’s out of town.”

“Good,” Blaine said, struggling with his bow tie. “Should’ve taken this off,” he grumbled. 

“No, s’cute,” Kurt crawled over him, elbows resting on Blaine’s chest while he fumbled with the bow tie. Blaine gripped Kurt’s hips, pulling them snug against his own. 

“God you feel good,” Blaine moaned.

“Aha!” Kurt pulled the tie from around Blaine’s neck and tossed it over his shoulder. “Success.”

Kurt leaned down and kissed Blaine again, and Blaine held his face there for a long moment. He liked kissing Kurt. He thought he might like to do it when he was sober. Maybe Kurt would want to do it when he was sober too?

“More clothes off,” Kurt interrupted. 

“Mmm,” Blaine managed. “Good idea.”

They tugged at sleeves and zippers and elastic until they were finally both naked. Blaine thrust up against Kurt when he kissed and nipped across Blaine’s shoulder, down his bicep. It felt good. Blaine had a fleeting thought about how right Sam had been about him needing to get out, and then how it was probably a good thing he’d had more than a few drinks because Kurt had pushed up on his knees and reached a hand between them, wrapping it around Blaine’s cock, and with the way Kurt was jerking him he’d be coming all over Kurt’s chest already. Blaine groaned. “S’good.”

Kurt was panting as he mouthed down Blaine’s chest, nipping at his belly, licking along the crease where his leg and hip came together. Kurt pushed at his thighs, and he spread them wider. Kurt groaned. He licked as Blaine’s balls, then pressed his mouth against the base of his cock, sucking wetly. 

“God, oh god.” He dug his hands into Kurt’s hair. Kurt licked up the length of his cock. “Um, condoms?” His voice felt like gravel and lust. 

Kurt stopped what he was doing long enough to crawl over Blaine and retrieve supplies from the bedside drawer. He kissed Blaine, tongue fucking into his mouth until they were both grinding against each other. Kurt pulled his mouth away from Blaine’s. “What, um what do you want?”

Blaine grabbed Kurt by the hips, pushing him up and off of him, far enough that he could roll over underneath him, bumping his ass against Kurt’s cock. “Fuck me?”

“Oh,” Kurt said, nipping at Blaine’s shoulder. “Yeah, yes.”

Kurt moved off of him, sitting back on his heels; then there was the cool drip of the lubricant, and Kurt’s fingers. Blaine still felt nicely buzzed, and it was easy to relax as Kurt worked him open. By the time he felt the dull pressure of Kurt’s cockhead against him all he could do was moan and take it as Kurt pushed past what little resistance his body had left. 

“God you’re hot,” Kurt growled, spread out over his back, grinding deep into Blaine. Blaine spread his legs wider, his ass pushing up as Kurt thrust down, pressing him into the mattress. Blaine took it, Kurt had a lot of stamina and Blaine was writhing and whining under him before Kurt showed any sign of finishing. 

Blaine shifted his hips, tilting them into the air. Kurt took the hint, leaning back on his knees and pulling Blaine up until he was on his hands and knees. Blaine felt the squirt of more lube and then Kurt pushing into him again, this time thrusting harder, faster, driving to something. Blaine reached for his own cock, bouncing against his stomach, and let the force of Kurt’s fucking him drive him through his own fist. 

Kurt choked out a gasp. “God, I’m, I, fuck,” he groaned, pulling Blaine hard against him, grinding into him as he came.

Blaine bent himself in half, burying his head into the pillows and reaching to grab Kurt's ass and hold him inside while he frantically jerked himself until he came, clenching hard around Kurt’s still mercifully hard cock. 

He collapsed with a grunt, too dazed at the moment to care about the mess he’d landed in. Kurt followed him to the bed, draping his body over Blaine’s. “Gimme a minute,” he mumbled into Blaine’s back.

Blaine waved weakly. “Take all the time you need,” he half laughed. “I’m just going to lie here for a bit.”

He could feel Kurt smile into his shoulder, then shift up and pull out. Blaine tried to hide his disappointed whine. 

“Don’t move yet,” Kurt said, petting his back. “I went a little overboard with the lube. Let me clean up.” 

“I’m not really complaining about that,” Blaine answered. He rubbed his face against the pillows, bringing his arms up and over his head. When Kurt returned he had two bottles of water, some ibuprofen and a wet towel. He cleaned them both up, tossing the towel out through the bedroom door into the hall.

“Water?” He offered Blaine a bottle, and the ibuprofen, and crawled over Blaine to the empty side of the bed, closing his eyes as his head hit the pillow. “Sleep,” he mumbled. So Blaine did.

\--

Blaine rolled over into a body. He felt dehydrated and sore. Kurt was facing the other way, toward the wall, his breathing even in sleep. A clock on the dresser told him it was nearly 3:30 am, and he should probably get home. Blaine swung his legs over the bed, only wincing a little – he was going to feel that for a day or two – and grabbed his underwear off the floor.

“Hey.” Kurt rolled over. 

“Hey,” Blaine answered. “I’m just going to, um, clean up and get out of your hair, if that’s cool.” He tugged his underwear on. No matter how naked you got with someone, if you didn’t really know them it was always a little awkward after. 

Kurt rubbed his face, propping himself up on one elbow. “You don’t have to go,” he said. “Um, I mean do what you want, but you won’t get a cab at this hour around here, and the subway’s about eight blocks away and unreliable at this hour.” He shrugged, like making the offer to Blaine to stay was no big deal, but the eyes that kept darting all over suggested that maybe it was.

“Okay,” he said, and sat on the bed slipping his legs under the sheet, but out of Kurt’s space. Blaine laced his hands on the pillow behind his head.

Of course, now he was awake, and so it seemed was Kurt. But now that he’d got back into bed it would be ever weirder to leave. “So do you have a lot of sex on the couch?” Oh my god. He really had no filter sometimes.

Kurt’s eyes narrowed. “Huh?”

“Oh god! I didn’t mean, I mean. Oh god, I’m sorry. Maybe I’m still drunk.” He laughed it off, shaking his head. “I just meant, you said that Rachel didn’t like when you had sex on the couch. I’m just really terrible at small talk.”

Kurt laughed at that. “Yeah, that was pretty bad.” He bit his lip, and Blaine had a very real urge to replace Kurt’s teeth with his own. He just wasn’t sure if that was part of the invitation to stay. “And, um, no, not really. That was the ex.”

“The asshole?”

“Mmm hmm, that’s the one. He was a bit of an exhibitionist, which should have been a sign, now that I think about it, and Rachel walked in on us more than once.”

“How long have you been roommates?” Blaine couldn’t tell if he was being too nosy, but he wanted to know more about Kurt.

“Since we moved to New York, six years. We’ve known each other forever, since high school.”

“A whole eternity then.” Blaine grinned.

Kurt smiled, shifting around so he was facing Blaine, his hands tucked under his head. “It feels like it sometimes. We both have rather diva-esque tendencies sometimes. But she’s my best friend. She knows me better than anyone.” 

“And the ex? If it’s not too soon, and you don’t mind my asking.” Blaine couldn’t help it. Maybe it was out of line to ask a total stranger you’d just slept with about his past relationships, but he couldn’t stop. He liked Kurt. He wanted to know.

Kurt flopped onto his back, staring at the ceiling.

“It’s ok,” he said, and his face was more thoughtful than upset. “He had a bit of a wandering -” Kurt stopped, waving his hand in the air as if looking for the right word. 

 

“Eye?” Blaine offered.

Kurt shook his head, considering. “I was going to say penis, but eye works too.”

Blaine laughed then, and much to his relief so did Kurt. “That is very not cool,” he said, after pulling himself together. “You thought it was serious?”

“Yeah, it was, I thought it was.” Kurt sighed. Only sounding a little wistful. “And no, it wasn’t cool at all.” Kurt kept looking at the ceiling.

Blaine stared at Kurt, wondering if he might be interested in anything more than a one-night-stand, or if starting with sex automatically meant they could never go back. His own rather miserable track record with relationships, none of which had managed to last longer than a couple of months, didn’t give him any useful information on what to do next. He was about to just blurt out his awkward intentions when Kurt turned his head, catching him looking. 

Kurt shuffled closer, placing a tentative hand on Blaine’s hip, then smoothing it upwards, thumbing a nipple as it passed across his ribcage. Blaine shuddered, his breath hitching a little as Kurt’s hand kept moving over his body. Blaine could kiss him easily now, if he moved forward just a bit. So he did.

“If you’re going to stay,” Kurt said, leaning in closer. “I don’t seem to be drunk anymore.” He swallowed, betraying more nerves with his voice than with his hand. It was moving steadily lower, teasing the waistband of the underwear Blaine was now regretting having put back on. “If you’d like, to, uh,” he kissed Blaine and pushed him over onto his back, “go again.”

“I’d like to,” Blaine breathed, his nose brushing Kurt’s just before he kissed him back.

\--

It was almost one in the afternoon by the time Blaine made his way back to his apartment. After lazy hand-jobs he and Kurt had fallen asleep tangled comfortably together, and made up for their all-nighter by sleeping through the morning. Blaine didn’t wake Kurt, but he did leave his number and a note inviting him to call (“no pressure” he’d added. Was that weird?) on a pad he found on the refrigerator. If Kurt didn’t call him he might even ask Mercedes for his number. But the rules of hooking up dictated that he really did need to get out of there. He could decide what to do later. After he’d had a shower. He caught a cab not far from Kurt’s apartment.

“So? Have a good time?” Sam was grinning and wiggling his eyebrows at him from where he was lying on the couch watching TV when Blaine walked in. “Did he sex you up?”

Blaine had hoped he’d at least be able to sneak into the shower before having to face Sam’s third degree. Everyone knew he had left with Kurt, it wasn’t like he could avoid it forever. 

Blaine a face that he hoped properly conveyed the words ‘are you for real’. “Ew. I had a lovely evening, if you must know,” he answered. “We played board games.”

“What, like strip Monopoly? Because your hair's a mess and honestly, dude, you reek,” Sam told him. “I can smell you from here.” He waved his hand in front of his nose.

Blaine sniffed himself as he walked toward his bedroom. Sam wasn’t wrong. He stripped, leaving his clothes on the floor, and wrapped a towel around his waist for his trip to the bathroom. Sam saluted him with a smirk as he walked past. “I was right, wasn’t I?”

Blaine frowned. “Yes. I do think I needed a night out.”

“And?”

“None of your business!” He called from the bathroom before shutting the door.

After Blaine showered and dressed in sweatpants and a clean t-shirt, he sat next to Sam on the couch and stared at the TV. He was watching cartoons. “What time is your flight?”

Sam yawned. “Eleven thirty tonight. I fucking hate the red-eye.” 

“Have you eaten today? I can make sandwiches.” 

“Sure.” He followed Blaine into the kitchen. ‘So Blaine,” He started once he sat down. It was Sam’s serious conversation voice. “I really like that Mercedes chick.”

Blaine laughed. “Really? I did notice you two seemed to be hitting it off.”

“Blaine, she thinks I’m funny. She laughed at all my jokes and most of the impressions I did for her.”

“Sam, she thinks you’re hot.”

“Everyone thinks I’m hot.” He waved a hand in the air. “I am hot. But she thinks I’m funny. How often does that happen?”

Blaine had to admit that it was a rare occurrence. “Not often.” He set the plate of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on the table, along with a carton of milk from the fridge. It was his traditional going away lunch for Sam.

“Exactly.” Sam picked up two sandwiches. “She knows I’ll be gone for a few weeks, and we have plans to meet up when I get back, but if you see her could you, y’know, talk me up a little? I think I can use all the help I can get.”

Blaine grabbed the stack of mail off the counter and set it down on the table, answering as he sorted through the junk. “I don’t think you really need me to – Sam when did this come?” He held up a large red and white express mail envelope.

Sam waved a sandwich at the envelope. “Oh, this morning. Rang the doorbell and everything.”

“It’s from my mom’s lawyer,” Blaine mumbled as he tore the zip tab open. The envelope contained some more detailed adoption papers and a letter from the lawyer. Blaine scanned the letter.

Dear Blaine,

Sorry I missed you last night, but as I mentioned I’m overnighting copies of all the information I received from the former partner of the lawyer who handled your sister’s adoption. Apparently the terms of the adoption stipulated that you weren’t to be told, but if you ever found out about your sister the lawyer was to inform the adoptive parents and then provide you with any information you required. The decision to reach out to her would be entirely up to you.

Her name is Rachel Berry, she was adopted by Hiram and LeRoy Berry, and she grew up in Ohio. One of the men was a close friend of your mother’s in college, and they were looking to adopt around the time your mother discovered she was pregnant. The situation worked out well for everyone at the time.

They lawyer confirmed that he did reach out to her parents, and they know you are making inquiries, however they have not mentioned anything to Rachel and are waiting to hear from you, if you would like to contact them. Their contact information is enclosed.  
I have also enclosed Rachel’s contact information, although I would suggest you contact her fathers out of respect before you reach out to Rachel. She knows she was adopted, but is unaware that she has a twin out in the world and will likely be as unsettled by the news as you were.

Best of luck, and please let me know if you need anything at all.

Shit. Blaine ran to his room and grabbed his phone He’d turned it off at the club and hadn’t bothered to check it since he got home. The lawyer had left a phone message and sent an email, but all either had said was that he had news, and he would overnight the information. Blaine stared at the letter.

“So?” Sam asked. 

Blaine dropped onto the chair. “I have a sister. Her name is Rachel Berry and she lives in New York.” Blaine shuffled the papers until he found her contact information. “She lives – oh my god.”  
This was not possible. Coincidence like this did not happen. He stared at the address.

“What? Is it a swanky address?”

Blaine shook his head slowly. “No,” he swallowed roughly. “I recognize her address though.” He looked up at Sam. “I think she’s Kurt’s roommate.”

“Kurt?”

Blaine raised an eyebrow. 

“Kurt! Kurt that you played strip Monopoly with all night Kurt?”

Blaine nodded. “He said her name was Rachel. And she was his best friend from high school. In Ohio.” He looked at Sam. “Stuff like this doesn’t happen in real life, right?”

Sam shrugged. “Fuck if I know. The world’s a funny place.”

\--

It was too unbelievable that the sister he never knew existed would be the roommate of a guy he hooked up with. Life really was strange some days. He really wanted to talk about it with someone, but with Sam gone Blaine didn’t really have anyone to discuss his newfound sibling with, he hadn’t made a lot of friends since moving back to New York, and he hadn’t really wanted to reconnect with anyone from school. It didn’t make it less complicated that he’d really liked Kurt and he’d hoped they might be able to see each other again. What even was the protocol for something like this? Hey Kurt, I had a great time the other night, and by the way, I didn’t know when we met, but your roommate Rachel? She’s the twin I never knew I had. Do you want to get some dinner or a drink some time? It was probably too weird.

He makes the call to Rachel’s dads.

\--

“Kurt! I’m home!” 

Rachel pushed her rolling bag through the front door of their apartment with one knee, tugging her overstuffed carry-on bag behind her through the door and dropping it on the floor before leaning back against the door until it clicked shut.

She’d loved spending the week with her dads, but New York was where her dreams would live or die. More than once she had thought about asking them to move east, thought that they could be happy in New Jersey or Connecticut or somewhere in Westchester. They could be closer, and there were times she could use the support. But she hadn‘t asked them yet.

For this and many other reasons she was both relieved and happy that she and Kurt had been able to put aside their high school rivalry and differences and built the relationship they had today. It hadn’t always been easy, and they both had plenty of diva-esque tendencies after all, but through it all they persevered, made their friendship a priority and made each other a family.

“Kurt?”

No answer. She dragged her bags to her room, popping her head into Kurt’s room (the door was open) to make sure he wasn’t taking a nap, and wandered to the kitchen for a post travel snack. Over the years Kurt had made a habit of baking her a welcome home treat any time she went to Ohio. She didn’t have nearly the same quantity or quality of bad memories of growing up on Ohio that Kurt had, but during their first year in New York he had baked her something after every trip home to “ease the sting of exposure Ohio’s oppression” and she had to admit that now she expected it. 

She wasn’t disappointed. Pinned to the refrigerator was a note from Kurt:

“WELCOME BACK RACHEL! If I’m not here when you get back I am fighting someone for an extra machine at the laundromat, but never fear! Your vegan carrot cake is in the fridge. And it’s a new recipe so let me know what you think. I should be home by 2:30 if all goes well.”

Rachel smiled. She could always count on Kurt.

\--

“Hey Rach,” Kurt said, stepping out of his bedroom. “We need to get down to the club to rehearse those new numbers before tonight.” He picked up his jacket from where it was hanging over the back of a chair. “Did you get the mail today? My dad was supposed to send me a box of photos he found under my bed and they haven’t come yet—Rachel? Is everything okay?”

She was sitting on the couch staring at her phone screen. He put his coat down and sat down next to her. “Kurt?” She looked up at him, her eyes wide and teary. “I don’t even know.” She waved her phone around. “I just spoke to my dads.”

“Are they alright? Rachel what happened? You’re scaring me.”

She grabbed Kurt’s hand and squeezed, shaking her head.

“Everyone’s alright, sort of, I mean. No one is sick or hurt or anything.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t even know how to say it out loud, although I should really appreciate the drama of it all.” She laughed, but it wasn’t a happy sound.

“Rachel, you know I love you, but please tell me. I need to know what kind of crisis I need to prepare for. And if it requires any sort of fancy dress.” That got a laugh out of her and she pulled herself together.

“Thank you.” She gave him a squeeze. “So, you know that I’m adopted.”

Kurt nodded. “Obviously.”

“Yes, well, it seems that when I was born my birth mother also gave birth to a boy. At the same time.” Kurt stared. He knew what the words she was saying meant, but he was sure he didn’t understand what they meant. She nodded. “I have a twin brother.”

What. “What?”

She laughed, becoming more Rachel by the minute. “Yeah. I am going to assume you want the whole story,” Kurt nodded, “so I’m just going to keep talking and you can stop me when you have questions or when something doesn’t make sense.”

“Rachel, let me stop you here, because this doesn’t make any sense. Why now?”

“I think I know the answer to that question. Do you want me to start at the end or the beginning Kurt?” She raised her eyebrows for dramatic effect, and he could tell she was pretty much back from the initial shock. 

“Oh, the beginning, by all means. But let me get something to drink. Do you want a glass of water or should I open that bottle of wine we’ve been saving?”

“I think tequila would be more helpful, but we do still have to rehearse before tonight.”

Kurt huffed from the kitchen. “Screw that Rachel. We can do one of our regular sets tonight and we can learn new songs tomorrow. Or for next week. This is too much to think about all at once.” He opened the bottle of wine and brought it and two glasses to the living room, pouring generous amounts for them both. They clinked their glasses together in a silent toast. “I believe we have set the scene appropriately Rach. Please tell me the story of your long lost twin brother.”

Rachel swallowed several large gulps from her glass before starting. “So. I did know that my dads had known my birth mother before the adoption. It wouldn’t have been easy for them to adopt through more traditional channels at the time, so a private adoption was really the best option for them.”

Kurt interrupted here. “Did she have a name? I might be easier if you refer to her by a name rather than as ‘my birth mother’ throughout the story.”

“Yes. Her name was Shelby Corcoran. She was a friend of theirs from college. She moved here to New York after they finished school, and at some point found herself pregnant. She did wind up marrying my biological father, it seems, after I was born. But it didn’t work out, and then he was killed in a helicopter accident while on a sightseeing trip in the Balkans-”

“Of course he was.”

Rachel glared and continued “-so she raised Blaine-”

Kurt choked on his wine, running to the kitchen for a wet rag to wipe the spill. “Blaine? His name is Blaine?”

Rachel looked at him, confused. “Yes. His name is Blaine Anderson. Why is that weird? Is that weird?”

Kurt shook his head. So weird. “Blaine Anderson.” Was he turning green? He felt like he was turning green.

“Yes. Our biological father’s last name was Anderson. I think Shelby took her maiden name back after they were divorced, but she had Blaine keep the name Anderson.” Rachel was still looking at him funny. “Kurt, are you alright? I’m pretty sure this is my drama we’re discussing here. Why do you look sick?”

He couldn’t tell her. It was not possible that he slept with Rachel’s twin brother over the weekend. “It must be the wine.” He put his glass down. “Finish your story Rachel. But I have something to tell you after.”

Her brow bunched together as she looked at him. “You’re being weird.”

“I am. Please go on.” 

“I believe I will.” She drained her glass, and Kurt refilled it. At least one of them should be drunk for this. “Where was I? I think I skipped ahead. When she found out she was having twins she freaked out a little, she wasn’t married and had been auditioning for parts – she was a singer too, of course – and didn’t know how she would take care of one child, let alone two, so she got in touch with my dads. She knew they wanted a family and were looking to adopt, and they agreed.”

Kurt had regained some of his composure. “Did they know they were adopting a girl?”

“I don’t know for sure, but I do remember them telling me years ago that they had been hoping for a girl. I suppose they decided after the delivery.”

Kurt shook his head. “So why now Rach? You know you were adopted, your dads have always been honest with you about things, why now?”

“Well, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me either, but it seems that they agreed that unless Blaine found out somehow they were going to keep it all private. It seems like one of those things that sounded like a good idea at the time, but in retrospect you don’t remember why. All my dads said was that Shelby had asked them not to tell me, and that she didn’t know if she would tell Blaine. I suspect that she just wanted to get on with her their lives with no surprises. 

“But it turns out that Shelby – by birth mother – she died last year. And Blaine was going through some of her things and found some hospital records that she had kept, and he tracked down my dads.” She stopped here. “He wants to meet me Kurt. What should I do?”

“My god Rachel, that’s a lot to absorb out of nowhere.” She nodded. Kurt filled his own glass and drank, now that he was feeling better he needed the wine to fortify him. “But I have some related news, that you really aren’t going to believe.”

“Related? How could you have related news?”

“Well, you know how Mercedes had that party last weekend? And you were all upset because you were going to be in Ohio?” She nodded. “She invited some friends that I had never met before. The guy who was her music director for that run of shows she did in Los Angeles last year and a friend of his. Her music director? Blaine Anderson.”

It was Rachel’s turn to be shocked. “What? How could that be? Did she ever mention his name before? How could Mercedes have been working with my brother and we not know it?”

“Rachel, up until an hour ago we didn’t even know you had a brother.”

“Don’t use logic on me now, Kurt. Do you ever remember her mentioning him?”

“Yes, actually. She talked about him every time she called. Said he was an amazing piano player and a walking player piano.”

Rachel stood. “I need to call Mercedes.”

Kurt panicked. “Now?”

“Yes. Now.” She started scrolling through her phone but Kurt plucked it from her fingers. “Kurt!”

“Get your coat and let's get to the club, we’re already late. You can call her on the way.” 

She made a frustrated noise. And disappeared into her room. “Fine.”

Once she was out of sight Kurt thumbed through his messages with shaky fingers, texting Mercedes that under no circumstances was she to tell Rachel that he’d slept with her friend Blaine, and that he would explain it all later. In fact, Rachel was going to call her and ask her questions about Blaine and she would figure out herself why. Now all he had to do was call every single person who was in that club Friday night and make sure they didn’t tell Rachel either. Including Blaine. Shit. He grabbed the post it with Blaine’s number on it from his side table, slipping it into his pocket.

\--

Blaine was checking his email when Kurt dropped his messenger bag onto the chair across from him. 

“I am so, so sorry I’m late,” he said, half out of breath. “The train got stuck in the East River tunnel again. Honestly, I keep telling Rachel we need to move. One day we’re just going to be stranded out there and be forced to walk across the Williamsburg Bridge to escape Brooklyn.” He pointed to Blaine’s coffee, said “Let me get you a refill,” and walked off to the counter.

Blaine watched Kurt as he stood in line. Now that he was sober and it was daylight, Kurt was even hotter than he’d remembered. He was pretty sure Kurt wanted to talk about Rachel, but he wouldn’t be opposed to Kurt wanting this to be a date. Or to a date in the very near future. He smiled at Kurt as he came back to the table. 

“Not a problem, Kurt. I’m waiting to hear back on a job doing some studio work so I was happy to have the time to obsessively check my email.” Blaine grinned his most charming grin, and he could see the slight blush as Kurt smiled back.

“There should be an email charm for performers to conjure up call-backs,” Kurt joked. 

“Are you implying that we could use magic to get work, Kurt?”

“If that were true I would be turning down lead offers every day, so I suppose not.” Kurt sighed and played with his coffee cup. 

Blaine sipped his coffee, pretty sure he knew why Kurt had called, but wondering if Kurt was going to start the conversation. When Kurt just bit his lip without saying anything, Blaine decided he could take the lead.

“So, um, I’m really glad you called, Kurt, but something tells me that this isn’t really a date.” Blaine quirked an eyebrow and Kurt smirked just a little.

“Not really, no,” Kurt answered, though he looked at him warmly for a brief moment before he went back to being a little awkward.

Kurt?” Blaine ducked his head so he could look Kurt in the face. “Is your roommate Rachel Berry?”

Kurt looked at him directly. “Is she really your sister, Blaine?”

Blaine chuckled. “Yes, it does look that way.” 

“Oh my god. Could you please not tell Rachel that we slept together?” Kurt blurted out, a panicked look flashing across his face. “I mean, I told her we met, at Mercedes’ party, but I don’t think I need her to know we, you know.”

“I, um, don’t think that I would have, but if that’s what you want I can make sure I don’t.” Blaine frowned. “Can I ask why?”

“This is so weird,” Kurt mumbled. “Yes. Rachel is not just my roommate, she is my best friend. But we haven’t always been this close. In high school we were really more each other’s competition, if that makes any sense? For solos, for class president once, for boys even, though I would never have won that particular competition.” Kurt shook his head.

“Well I don’t know Rachel yet, but you certainly have your charms,” Blaine said, smiling at Kurt. Kurt was definitely as attractive as he’d remembered.

“Hmm, yes, well.” Kurt blushed pink and looked away. “They didn’t really work on straight high school football players. But it didn’t matter, by the time we graduated and moved to New York all the things that were so hard for us in high school really made it so easy for us to pull together and face the city, face growing up, together. She’s really my best friend, even if we frequently still drive each other crazy. I don’t know what I would do without her.”

“And you don’t think she would react well to finding out we’d slept together?” Blaine asked.

Kurt tapped on the table with his fingers. “I don’t know. But I can tell you that finding out that she was separated from her twin brother at birth is exactly the sort of drama I would expect from Rachel.”

Blaine laughed. “I don’t think she orchestrated this herself, Kurt.”

“I wouldn’t put it past her,” Kurt snorted, only half joking.

Blaine shrugged. “Okay. Do you mind if I ask you how much she told you?”

“Well, she spoke with her dads, so she told me everything they told her, I think.” Kurt picked at his coffee cup. “Which may or may not have been everything. I used to think they were honest with her about everything, too honest sometimes, but after this I don’t really know.” Kurt’s shoulders twitched.

“They offered to come out to New York any time, after Rachel and I meet, just to connect. They sounded pretty great.” Blaine had only spoken to them on the phone, and only the one time, but they had spent hours going over details with Blaine that he could not have gotten from anyone else, and he was grateful to them for what they were willing to share. He wanted to know more about them too. “Do you know them well?”

Kurt smiled. “I do, yes.”

Kurt visibly relaxed as he told Blaine about Rachel’s dads; how supportive they were even when he and Rachel were not on the best of terms, and how important they had been as role models, when he had felt like he was the only gay kid in Ohio. Blaine hoped he would get a chance to meet them, too.

\--

Blaine checked the address on his phone against the address on the building. A flat electric light box hung over the doorway proclaiming the name of the club as Finales. Blaine pushed the door open and went in.

It was a pretty small room, with a bar on the left and a handful of tables in the middle. A tiny brunette woman was stacking glasses at the bar.

“Can I help you honey?” She called out to Blaine. “You don’t look like the delivery guy I’m expecting.”

“No, um, I’m looking for Rachel Berry? My name is Blaine Anderson, she should be expecting me.”

The woman practically squealed. “OH mygod. You’re Rachel’s new brother!” She practically leapt over the counter and came over to Blaine. “I’m Sugar. My dad owns this club but I manage it for him.” She eyed Blaine shamelessly. “You’re pretty cute.”

Blaine blushed. “I, uh, um. Thank you?” He fiddled with his bow tie. “Is Rachel here?”

Sugar’s eyes got wide, like she suddenly remembered Rachel was there. “Oh right! The club is through that curtain over there. She’s back there singing, but I think she’s just nervous to meet you.” Sugar winked.

“Well that makes two of us,” Blaine said, holding out his hand to thank Sugar. Now that she’d mentioned it he could hear music coming from the back. It wasn’t loud. “It was nice to meet you.” Sugar shook his hand with enthusiasm. “Should I just-?” 

“Go on back,” Sugar said. “She’s waiting.”

When he passed through the curtain, the music got louder, and he could see a tiny woman on the small stage, in the middle of a song [Losing My Mind], with just piano player accompanying her. She smiled when she saw him, and he motioned for her to keep going and took a seat at one of the tables. She looked like him. 

Blaine found the nerves he had had while anticipating meeting Rachel were disappearing as he watched her rehearse. Kurt had mentioned that he and Rachel performed together, and he supposes he’d assumed some level of competence if they had a regular gig. But he really didn’t imagine someone with as an amazing voice as Rachel had. He relaxed a little. They definitely had music in common. They’d at least be able to talk about that if they had nothing else.

Blaine stood and applauded when she finished, and Rachel beamed at him. After thanking her piano player she stepped off of the stage and came toward him.

“That was amazing,” Blaine said. “You are very talented Rachel.”

She smiled. “Well I understand it runs in the family.” When Blaine just looked at her she went on. “I spoke to Mercedes. She told me all about how amazing you were when she worked with you.”

“Yeah, I still can’t believe you went to highschool with her.” Blaine sat back down at the table with Rachel.

“I know! The world is full of wild coincidences. And then you’ve already met Kurt too! I always tell Kurt that the minute you move to New York your world shrinks and everyone you meet knows everyone else you meet. And even after six years here it keeps happening.” Rachel smiled big at him, and reached over the table for his hand. “But I have to tell you, I would never have imagined that it would bring me my brother.” Blaine could see tears beginning to well in her eyes. 

“Rachel,” he started, gripping her hand tighter. “I can imagine how much of a shock this is for you. I was pretty stunned when I found out, and then your dads, who sound wonderful by the way, were so helpful and gracious when I called.” He paused. He wasn’t even sure where he was going with this; he hadn’t prepared a speech. “Rachel, I just want you to know that however weird this is, or might be, that I am really very happy to have found out about you, and to have found you. And while I don’t have a lot of experience being someone’s brother, if you’re interested, I’d like to try.”

Rachel had shed a few tears, biting her lip while Blaine was talking. But now that he’d finished talking she stood and opened her arms, pulling him into a hug. 

“Oh Blaine,” she said, still hugging him. “I can’t wait.” She pulled back and grinned, streaks from happy tears drying on her cheeks. “But first,” she went on, letting him go and walking toward the stage. “Mercedes tells me that not only are you a terrific piano player with an encyclopedic knowledge of songs across many genres, but you are also a pretty respectable singer.”

Blaine shrugged. “I am nowhere near as good as you Rachel, but I can sing.” 

Rachel waved her hand with a smile. “I am, of course, very talented.” Blaine laughed. “But it would make me outrageously happy if you would sing with me.”

Blaine looked at the stage. “Can I play piano too? I’m less nervous with something to do with my hands.”

Rachel clapped her hands together. “I would love that.”

\--

When Kurt arrived at the club almost two hours later, Blaine and Rachel were in the middle of a duet. “Oh brother,” he said under his breath. “Guys and Dolls? It’s like they’re twins.” He leaned against the bar to listen. Rachel finished her verse and Blaine started up.

“And I'll know long before we can speak  
I'll know in my heart.  
I'll know and I won't ever ask  
Am I right, am I wise, am I smart.  
And I'll stop. And I'll stare.  
At that face. In the throng.  
Yes, I'll know when my love comes along  
I'll know  
When my love comes along.” 

Kurt tried not to stare, but Blaine’s voice was gorgeous, and the song was one of his favorites. He and Rachel had sung it together more than once and he pushed back the slight swirl of jealousy that he felt at the thought that she was singing it with Blaine. Blaine had glanced at him more than once while he was singing, and Kurt had to tap down his natural inclination to read more into any romantic situation than was warranted or desired or even a very good idea. 

There is no possible way he could fall for Rachel’s twin. He was Rachel’s twin for god’s sake. Sure he was gorgeous and charming and from everything Kurt had seen remarkably polite and had a seriously fantastic ass and other parts that Kurt was incidentally intimately acquainted with, but this was a non-starter. He was Rachel’s twin.

 

They finished and Rachel jumped off of the stage, practically jumping on Kurt when she wrapped her arms around him.

“Kurt!” She waved Blaine over toward them. “Kurt, did you hear that? We should totally hire Blaine to be our new piano player!” Rachel clapped her hands together, clearly thrilled with the idea herself. “And he can sing Kurt. Did you hear him?”

Blaine interrupted as Rachel continued to catalogue his apparently numerous talents. “Oh, no, I don’t want to mess up what you guys have going here. Kurt, really, Rachel and I were just playing around.”

“Developing a sibling bond,” Rachel offered earnestly.

Blaine laughed, “Yeah, I guess so.” He blushed a little, looking between Rachel and Kurt. 

Kurt looked between his best friend and her brand new brother. He couldn’t really read Blaine, but he wasn’t sure he had ever seen Rachel so genuinely excited. Not a put on, or playing a role she thought she needed to in order to get what she wanted. Rachel wasn’t ruthless, but she was driven, and Kurt knew when she had her game face on. But that wasn’t now. She just looked happy.

“You wouldn’t be messing anything up, at all,” he finally said. “We do actually need a piano player, and we haven’t had much luck finding one that we like that can work our schedule.” Kurt shrugged, continuing to look between them as the smile on Rachel’s face got even bigger. “That is, of course, if you don’t have other obligations?” Kurt really hoped that didn’t sound like he was trying to give Blaine an out, or secretly hoping he did have other obligations. He did like Blaine, after all. 

“Actually, I don’t really have much on my schedule at the moment. I have a few studio sessions booked, but I was actually going to start looking for a more steady gig.” Blaine looked between them. “I’d be honored if you’d let me audition. If the chemistry isn’t right or it doesn’t work out – I mean we did all just meet.” He laughed and blushed again, and honestly if he didn’t stop that Kurt was going to be in a lot of trouble.

“Blaine,” Kurt interrupted. “You don’t need to audition. We have a guy who’s scheduled to play with us tonight, so why don’t you hang around and see the set? We’ve got a stack of sheet music and a notebook Rachel keeps with lists of the songs we weave into the set, or play as requests now and then.” Rachel was nodding furiously next to him. “Are you free tomorrow afternoon? We can get together here and run through the set once or twice, then see where we go from there.”

Blaine smiled at both of them. “Yeah, that would be amazing, actually.” He turned to Rachel. “I know we just met Rachel, and I hope this doesn’t seem too weird to say so soon, but I really do feel like I’ve known you forever already.”

Rachel beamed at him, then threw her arms around his neck. “I’m so happy you found me,” she said, and when she pulled away Kurt could see the tears welling in her eyes. 

“Me too,” he hugged her again, then released her. “But I do have a few errands to run and I think I want to go home and change if I’m going to hang out here all night. He held a hand out to Kurt. “It was nice to see you again, too, Kurt.”

Kurt shook Blaine’s hand, ignoring the electric jolt he felt at Blaine’s touch. Good God Kurt, pull yourself together. You had sex with the guy once. Okay, twice. But only one night. You can get over one night. “It was good to see you too Blaine.”

“Oh yay!” Rachel chirped once Blaine had left. She grabbed Kurt around the waist. “Thank you Kurt, for being so flexible. I know it must be weird for you too, for me to suddenly have a brother.”

You have no idea Rachel. “On the contrary Rachel, finding the twin you were separated from at birth who also turns out to be an accomplished musician and talented singer seems like exactly what should be happening to you at this point in your life.” Rachel giggled into his arm and hugged him tighter. “It’s exactly the sort of drama I expect from your life, and I think I’d be disappointed if I wasn’t here to experience it.”

\--

To his surprise and relief, Blaine ends up fitting seamlessly into Rachel’s life, if not into Kurt’s, although Kurt seems to be willing to give them both enough space to figure out who they are to each other, to actually develop a relationship, and Blaine is grateful for that. Blaine spends extra time rehearsing with the rest of the band, and can’t help but feel hopeful that all is going well when both Kurt and Rachel take more chances vocally during their rehearsals and their performances; they play with arrangements and rework their existing sets mid-performance, playing to the crowd, and he keeps up with whatever they want to try. They both notice their small following of regulars growing, and they mention it to Blaine. Rachel is of course thrilled at the increased exposure, and Blaine couldn’t help but notice that Kurt seemed to really enjoy the more enthusiastic audiences.

He tries to stay in the background, noticing almost right away the undercurrent of competition that drives Kurt and Rachel’s friendship, but that doesn’t stop her from inviting Blaine to sing duets when she’s feeling particularly generous. Sometimes, Rachel even tells the audience about how lucky she was to have found the brother she never knew she had, and what a thrill if had been to discover how alike they were even though they grew up far apart. Of course they also perfected a playful version of “Anything You Can Do” to punctuate her story. It always brought the house down.

Blaine finds himself a little envious of Kurt and Rachel’s relationship, how even when they squabble they clearly love and care for each other. Their disagreements always seem to come from a place of driving each other to do or be better; a better vocalist, a more confident performer. Sam is his best friend, but it’s nothing like what Kurt and Rachel have. Blaine isn’t sure he’s ever had a relationship like the one he sees between his new sister and her best friend. As the weeks go on and he spends more time with both of them, Blaine isn’t surprised that Kurt wanted to preserve that and not bring the unnecessary tension into their relationship that might have occurred.

But Blaine does notice Kurt staring at him, and trying to hide it. And he notices that when Kurt’s not looking he finds himself staring back. It shouldn’t be a surprise, right? He is attracted to Kurt. Their night of dancing in the club, and more in Kurt’s bed, felt less to Blaine like a random occurrence than an interesting twist of fate. If Kurt hadn’t made his wishes known already, Blaine would have a hard time not expressing his interest.

Because what he could notice was how endlessly patient Kurt was with Rachel, how he laughed at her more ridiculous behavior in a way that kept her in line rather than made her feel badly. 

Blaine and Rachel were at the club, working through some new song selections for her auditions portfolio. She had a callback for a new show that was going into a third round of workshops, and she had heard from someone “who knew these things” that this one was definitely going to Broadway, and Rachel wanted to knock this audition out of the park. Rachel belting out “Watch What Happens” from Newsies, Blaine standing in the center of the club floor, leaning against a table, just watching. He stood next to Blaine and waited for Rachel to finish.

 

But all I know is nothing happens if you just give in.  
It can't be any worse than how it's been.  
And it just so happens that we just might win,  
so whatever happens! Let's begin!

They both applauded with gusto, Rachel curtsying a dramatic ‘thank you’ before joining them.

“That sounded amazing Rachel,” Kurt said. “ But I don’t think that’s going to fit into our torch songs set.”

“Oh, it’s not for that Kurt. It’s for Rachel’s callback,” Blaine said.

Kurt turned to Rachel. “What callback Rachel? I didn’t even know you had an audition? In the entire thirteen years we have known each other, you have never not called me the minute she secured any audition, never mind a callback.” 

Kurt glared at Rachel, and Blaine felt like he was the one that had done something wrong.

“Of course I told you Kurt. For the new musical? It was last week.” Kurt put his hands up, gesturing that he had no idea what she was talking about. “It’s in the very late workshop stage, and the actress they have been working with did a pilot last year that got picked up and she had to move to Hollywood. I know I told you.”

Rachel was looking at Kurt encouragingly, as if her repeating it all would shake loose some memory that didn’t exist. 

“No Rachel.” Kurt put both hands on his hips. “I cannot believe you did not tell me. How did you pick an audition song? Who else was there?”

“Oh.” Rachel looked sheepish. She glanced at Blaine her expression guilty, and then back at Kurt. “I asked Blaine to help me.”

“I’m sure it was just an oversight, Kurt. I mean, we’ve been spending a lot of time together, getting to know each other.” He was trying to be placating but Kurt’s eyebrows just knotted together tighter when he looked at Blaine. 

“Oh. Of course, Blaine.” He gestured awkwardly to Blaine then between he and Rachel. “That makes total sense, of course.” Blaine couldn’t help thinking that Kurt was less alright with this than he was letting on, but he wasn’t sure why it was such a big deal either. “And that’s what you’re doing for the callback?” Kurt’s tone was not entirely approving.

“It’s a great number for her,” Blaine offered. “She’s a stronger vocalist than the original, it should really grab their attention.”

Kurt looked at Rachel, his eyebrows practically in his hairline. Blaine couldn’t read him. 

“I of course sang “Don’t Rain On My Parade” last week at the first audition, but Blaine suggested that because this is a new original musical that it might be helpful if the casting director could see me handle something more contemporary.”

“Oh-kay?” It’s not like Newsies was exactly an avant garde powerhouse.

Rachel continued explaining as Kurt seemed to get visibly more irritated. “I mean, it’s not like it’s an off-Broadway production and I could just show up with some performance art piece. It’s Broadway Kurt.” She was looking at Kurt intensely, and Blaine sensed something going on between them that he was still too much of an outsider to understand. He wasn’t sure which one of them was angry at this point. “I happen to think it was an inspired suggestion,” she said with a pout.

Kurt let out a clipped laugh that was anything but funny. “Rachel, in your entire career you have never had an audition that hadn’t taken complete priority over everything that may have been happening in my life. I’ve helped you pick exactly the right solo, spent hours reassuring you that she were better than every other actress auditioning. “Honestly?” he turned to Blaine, “you’ve really done me a favor, Blaine. I should really thank you for taking her off my hands.” 

Blaine had been quietly watching Kurt’s explosion. “Kurt, what’s going on? This doesn’t seem like something you should be getting so angry over.”

Kurt sucked in a long breath, looking between Blaine and Rachel. Blaine could see some of the fight seep out of him. 

“Okay.” he shook his head as if to clear it. “Should we get started then?”

Blaine looked at Rachel, who was looking at Kurt with a worried expression.

“We cancelled rehearsal Kurt,” Rachel said, her voice quiet.

Blaine saw him stiffen. “We what? When did this happen?

“Yesterday? When I got my callback? I called Blaine to discuss what I should sing, then I texted you to tell you we needed to put off today’s rehearsal and - ”

“Rachel. You did not text me yesterday. You didn’t tell me about your audition, and you didn’t text me yesterday to cancel rehearsal.” Blaine could see now that Kurt was trying not to reignite whatever anger he’d had at Rachel just moments before, but he was struggling. 

“I did Kurt,” Rachel dug her phone out of her bag. “I swear I did.” 

Blaine watched Kurt and Rachel, wondering if he should step in again. It had seemed like Kurt had been giving he and Rachel a lot of space to get to know each other, to build their own relationship, but it was possible it had been bothering Kurt more than he let on. Rachel was Kurt’s best friend. Blaine had to be taking time away from their relationship.

“Kurt I am so sorry,” Rachel pleads. Kurt looked both hurt and furious.

“I’m sorry too, Kurt.” Blaine didn’t know what to make of Kurt. He has to leave as well and there’s no way not to make leaving right now not awkward, considering how upset Kurt is. “I do have to go out for a bit, but I’ll be back for the 9:00 set. That’s when you’ll need me, right?”

Kurt nodded sharply, but seemed to close up on himself.

“Where are you going?” Rachel asked.

“I have a date.” Blaine hoped a change of subject would snap Kurt out of whatever funk he was in. 

“Ooh!” Rachel clapped her hands together. “With Ran?”

“Yes.” Blaine can’t help but blush at how excited Rachel is about his date. “It’s just coffee Rach.”

“How many dates have you been on?” 

“Is this what having a sister is like? Poking into my relationships?” Kurt huffs off to the side, but Blaine avoids looking at him. 

“I am not poking.” Rachel swatted him on the arm playfully. “I’m being supportive.”

“Uh huh.” He gives Rachel a little squeeze. “Thanks, sis.” He’s rewarded with a beaming smile from Rachel before he leaves.

\--

“So who is Ran?” Kurt snaps as soon as Blaine is out the door.

“Ran? I told you about him, remember? I tried to fix you up with him last year, but you had just started dating The Asshole and you weren’t interested. I talked you up to him quite a bit before you shot me down,” Rachel explains.

Kurt tried to hold onto his anger, even though what he’s really feeling is a mess of conflicting emotions. None of which he really wants to deal with. “Not really, no.”

“And what is the matter with you today? You are in full-on bitch mode.” 

Kurt waved it away. He’s tired of fighting and deflates a little. “It’s nothing. I wanted to work on some new songs.” He shrugs it off.  
Rachel keeps her eyes on him, but changes the subject. “I think Blaine has been on a couple of dates with Ran, but I don’t know how it’s going. Blaine won’t tell me anything, He only says ‘he’s nice’ when I ask him.” The look on Rachel’s face turns from curious to suspicious. . “Why?”

Kurt pulled his thoughts together, managing to focus them on Rachel with some effort. 

“That’s probably smart of him,” Kurt said. He knows he sounds more petulant than angry at this point, and he doesn’t like it.

Rachel frowned. “Kurt I am so sorry I forgot to text you. You pick a time that works for you and I'll make sure Blaine and I are there, ready to rehearse.” She gives him a quick smile. “But right now I have to get to my yoga class.” Rachel gathered her things, wiggling her fingers at him as she makes her dramatic exit.

Kurt stands, staring after her, not quite sure what to make of the last forty minutes of his day. When he finally turns around, Sugar is behind the bar, cleaning shot glasses and probably watching everything that just happened.

“So,” she said, nodding toward the door. “Hot mess?”

He looked at the door, and then back at her. “The hottest.”

“So do you wanna talk about it or what? It’s not good to keep these things bottled up.”

He shook his head. He really did not want to talk about it at all. “Not really, thanks.”

“Good, ‘cause I’ve got plenty to say so you can just sit your tiny behind right there on that bar stool and listen to me.” She pointed over the bar to the seat in front of her. “Now, Kurt Hummel-” she started.

“Wait, wait,” Kurt interrupted her. “If you’re going to lecture me about my life choices can I at least get a drink first?”

She narrowed her eyes at him, as if she might say no. “Okay. But my choice.”

He sighed, watching her pour some tequila into a tumbler with something red and a few ice cubes then set it in front of him. 

“Okay,” Kurt took a too big swallow of his drink. “Do your worst.”

Sugar cracked her knuckles dramatically in front of him.

“First of all, my little lemon peel, you have got it bad for that boy, and everyone in this bar who isn’t you or him can see it. We have a pool going.”

He doesn’t bother to deny it. “Please tell me Rachel doesn’t know.”

“Please. She’s the only person on this planet more clueless than you. She’s pretty in love with him too, in a platonic, ‘isn’t-my-new-twin-amazing’ kind of way. Which he is, by the way. You could do, and have done, worse than him.” 

“That’s so kind of you to say,” Kurt said, just a tad bitter.

She put another drink in front of him. “Yeah, I don’t think she notices you staring at his ass half the night. But I have.” She smirked. “So when are you going to do something about that?”

He waved her off. “He’s Rachel’s brother, Sugar. I can’t.” It’s too loaded with my own fears is what he doesn’t say to her. At least it was, before he got to know Blaine a little better. He’s like Rachel in some ways, talented, driven, but less single minded, so effortlessly generous. When Kurt lets himself want he wonders what it would be like to just let it happen.

“That’s the stupidest excuse I’ve ever heard Hummel. Rachel is your best friend. Yes, she’s ambitious, and driven, sometimes ruthlessly. But so are you.”

Kurt nodded. “Yes. We are alike in some ways, Rachel and I.” 

“And that is why you are friends.” Sugar said. “And your friends just want you to be happy Kurt. Rachel wants you to be happy.”

“I don’t want to steal her brother from her Sugar.”

Sugar leveled a slightly judgemental look at him. “Do you really think Rachel would see it that way? She’d be delighted that her brother and her other brother were happy. Even more that it was with each other.”

Kurt wasn’t so sure. The last thing he wanted was for the competitive streak both of them still possessed to rear its ugly head and damage their friendship. It was too important. And he didn’t want to do anything to get in the way of the relationship that Rachel and Blaine were trying to build.

But maybe…. 

Kurt looked over his shoulder, at the door Blaine left through on his way to meet his date. Maybe he was being stupid, but maybe he could sort it out. Pushing away from the bar he dug into the box of sheet music they kept at the back of the stage, in case they needed anything on the spur of the moment. It took him a minute to find what he was looking for. He just hoped it wouldn’t be obvious to Rachel what he was doing.

\--

Since his date was only for a quick coffee, Blaine had a lot of time to kill before he had to be back at the club. He’d considered asking Ran to have dinner, but after three coffee dates he knew there wasn’t anything happening there. He was a nice guy, but he really only went out with him because Rachel had been so eager to fix him up with someone. He was pretty sure Ran was feeling the same as he was, though, so he wasn’t too worried about that. They could be friends.

He considered going back to the club early, spending some time with Rachel, and Kurt if he was around, but after the afternoon they’d spent together maybe Rachel and Kurt needed some time together without him. He opted to go home for a shower and a nap instead.

Blaine had a hard time shaking his unease about the afternoon, though, particularly because it felt like Kurt wasn’t just angry at Rachel, but at him too. It wasn’t that Blaine didn’t understand being upset that neither of them told him about the schedule change. And while he couldn’t say that he’d have been that upset by it, he did understood that people were busy and that Kurt could have had other things he’d wanted to do. For all Blaine knew, Kurt could have a guy he wanted to see in his free time, too.

Kurt hadn’t mentioned that he was seeing anyone, not that he remembered anyway. And he’d remember. He hated to admit it, even to himself, but he likes Kurt a little more every day. He could really see something happening, if either of them were willing to risk it. But when Kurt had asked him not to say anything to Rachel about them sleeping together, Blaine had put the brakes on any ideas he’d had about maybe dating Kurt. Kurt wanted to pretend it never happened, and Blaine didn’t want to make him uncomfortable. Blaine just wasn’t sure he still wanted to pretend that.

It probably didn’t matter. Kurt hadn’t given him any sign that he might be interested in him at all.

\--

When Blaine did arrive back at the club, he was happy to see a mostly full house. It was always easier to play to a crowd, and Kurt and Rachel were both much more relaxed when they had an audience. If Kurt was willing to put the afternoon behind them then this could be a great night. 

He had taken his place at the piano, waiting for Kurt and Rachel to come up on stage so they could get started. Kurt brought over the set list while Rachel got settled.

“I want to apologize for this afternoon Blaine,” Kurt said, handing off the list.

Blaine waved it off. “It’s perfectly fine, Kurt. It was just a miscommunication. We’ll all just make sure we connect if there are any changes in the schedule.” Blaine looked over the set list. “Hey Kurt, there’s a new song on here.”

“Oh, right,” Kurt rolled his eyes sheepishly. “I forgot to mention. I pulled the sheet music for you.” Kurt came around the piano and sat next to Blaine on the piano bench, so their thighs were pressed together. He sorted through a few papers and set them in front of Blaine. “Here you go.” Kurt dropped his hand to Blaine’s leg and gave it a light squeeze as he got up, which was weird only in that he hadn’t actually touched Blaine in any way other than politely since the night they had both not been very polite at all. Kurt didn’t look at Blaine when he walked away. 

Blaine watched Kurt as he set up at the mic. He didn’t always have an easy time reading Kurt, he kept a lot of things to himself, or at least he kept them from Blaine. But tonight he was nervous. 

Kurt didn’t look at Blaine all night, which was pretty unusual. When they were performing it was always easier when all three of them were connecting. It made transitions easier, and left room for any of them to freestyle when they were in the moment. The crowd ate it up, but the set was on the mellow side. It wasn’t until Blaine played the intro to the new song that Kurt finally looked at him. Rachel didn’t have any vocal on this apparently, because she left the stage during the intro. 

Blaine didn’t pay much attention to the words the first time through, he just listened to Kurt wrap his lovely voice around the words as he found space for the piano to fit in. But the second time through, Blaine did listen. Kurt was singing the words with meaning that wasn’t even contemplated by the original, if he remembered right. Kurt had been glancing at Blaine throughout the song, and by the time Kurt reached the end, eyes wide and turned in Blaine’s direction, Blaine was convinced Kurt was actually singing it to him.

Anyone can whistle, that's what they say, easy  
Anyone can whistle, any old day, easy  
It's all so simple, relax, let go, let fly  
So someone tell me, why can't I?

I can dance a tango, I can read Greek, easy  
I can slay a dragon, any old week, easy  
What's hard is simple  
What's natural comes hard

Maybe you could show me  
How to let go, lower my guard  
Learn to be free  
Maybe if you whistle, whistle for me

Blaine held Kurt’s gaze as they finished, telling himself it was just to time the flourish at the end, not willing yet to let himself think there was any actual intent behind Kurt’s actions. They still had another set to get through.

\--

A few hours later, Blaine was sitting at the bar, sucking a club soda through a straw. They’d finished the second set and most of the customers had been shuffled out the door. Rachel had already left, claiming she had a seven a.m. spinning class she absolutely could not miss. Blaine knew he should say his goodbye’s and head home, but he couldn’t seem to get up off the bar stool.

“Can I buy you a drink?” Kurt leaned backward against the bar, looking slightly down at him.

“Club soda,” Blaine said, holding up his glass and waving it in the air in front of him. He sat up straighter, but stayed on his barstool. They drank free at the club. The bartender brought him a fresh drink.

“Wow, club soda. Wild night planned?” Kurt asked.

Blaine wasn’t sure where this was going, but he knew how to flirt. “That depends.” He watched Kurt until looked away. “Kurt, what’s going on?”

Kurt stared at the floor, linking his fingers together on the bar. “Okay, the direct approach.”

“Seems best, under the circumstances. I don’t want us to have any more misunderstandings.”

Kurt pulled his mouth into a straight line, nodding. “Probably smart,” he said. “Okay. I, um, I think I was being overly cautious when I said I couldn’t be involved with you because you were Rachel’s brother. And I realize that I am probably too late, but I didn’t want to waste any more time wondering what I was going to do about it.” Kurt gave a tiny shrug. 

“That’s it?” Blaine asked. He wasn’t exactly enjoying prolonging Kurt’s torture. But he wasn’t not enjoying it. 

Kurt looked a little helpless. “That’s it.”

“I see.” Blaine stood, pushing the barstool out of his way. He watched Kurt’s eyes go wide when he slipped on hand to Kurt’s cheek, but he couldn’t see the look on his face when he kissed him. 

“Boyfriend,” Kurt sputtered when they broke apart. “Your boyfriend.”

“I don’t have a boyfriend.” Blaine leaned in and kissed him again. “We’ve been out for coffee three times.” He tugged Kurt closer, sliding his other hand to Kurt’s waist. “We haven’t even kissed on the mouth,” he whispered, before kissing Kurt on the mouth again. Kurt didn’t resist, wrapping his arms around Blaine’s shoulders.

“Excuse me?” Sugar tapped them both on the arm. “We’d all like to go home now that you two have decided to stop being ridiculous.”  
“Okay.” Blaine laughed, kissing Kurt across his cheek until he reached his ear. “My place?”

Kurt nodded. “Please.”

\--

Blaine didn’t know what time it was, but he did know that his phone was apparently not going to stop buzzing on its own. He crawled over Kurt’s naked ass and felt around in the pile of clothes on the floor until he found the vibrating hunk of plastic. He looked at the name of the person calling and answered.

“Hi Rachel,” he answered, yawning into the phone. “You’re up early.”

“Blaine?”

“Mmm, hmm. What’s the matter?” He rubbed at his chest then flopped back onto the bed, closing his eyes. They hadn’t really gotten much sleep.

“Why are you answering Kurt’s phone?” She sounded slightly panicked, but not nearly as panicked as he felt. He held the phone away so he could take a closer look, then slammed it against his chest. 

“Who is it?” Kurt mumbled, reaching out to tug him closer. “Hang up and come here. I’m cold and you’re warm.”

Blaine grabbed Kurt’s hand, there was no way Rachel hadn’t heard that. “Kurt it’s Rachel and I answered your phone.” 

Kurt sat up so fast he knocked the phone out of Blaine’s hands, and they both scrambled for it, with Kurt winding up the winner. He looked at the phone heard Rachel’s voice coming out of the tiny speaker, and pressed the disconnect button.

“Why did you do that?”

“I don’t know, I panicked,” Kurt was waving the phone around in the air. It started buzzing again.

“Answer it,” Blaine said. Kurt shook his head no. “She’s not going to stop calling Kurt.”

“I could throw it out the window.” 

“She’d just call me. And then she’d come over here.”

“We could move to Peru,” Kurt suggested.

Blaine plucked the phone from Kurt’s hand. “Hi Rachel.”

“Blaine. Please tell me what is going on.”

Kurt must have been able to hear her, because he snatched the phone out of Blaine’s hand. “My god Rachel, I spent the night with Blaine. How difficult is that to figure out.”

Blaine laughed, taking the phone back from Kurt. “Me again.”

“Blaine.” She sounded slightly calmer. “I am coming over to your apartment. Please neither of you go anywhere.” Blaine disconnected the call after she did.

“So she’s coming over here,” he threw the sheets of the bed and stood up. He noticed Kurt staring at him hungrily as he stretched out the kinks from sleeping. 

“Do you think we have time to, uh, fool around?” Kurt reached out and ran a finger over Blaine’s thigh.

“Not really, no,” Blaine answered. “Though I suppose you could join me in the shower if you want.”

Kurt stood up. “I do want.”

Half an hour later they were showered and mostly dressed, sitting at Blaine’s kitchen table, when the buzzer went off. Blaine buzzed Rachel into the building, opening the door when she knocked.

“Tea?” Blaine offered, leading Rachel into the kitchen. 

Rachel didn’t say anything, just stood and looked back and forth between the two of them. 

“How long has this been going on?”

Blaine looked at Kurt. Then they both answered at the same time.

“We hooked up a couple months ago,” Blaine said.

“Just since last night,” Kurt said.

“You hooked up a few months ago?”

Kurt stared at Blaine. “Blaine! Why did you say that?”

Blaine sat with his mouth open, not saying anything. 

“No, no, let’s start there,” Rachel said, finally taking a seat at the table with them. “You, Kurt. I’d like to hear this from you.”

Kurt looked at Blaine, one eyebrow raised. “Do you see what I mean now?”

“Kurt!” Rachel snapped.

“OK, fine. I told you we met at Mercedes’ party.” Rachel nodded. “Well we also spent the night together. This was before we had any idea you were related.”  
“Yeah,” Blaine offered. “Once I found out, and got in touch, we never did again.” He spread his hands on the table, palms up. “Well, not until last night anyway.” He tried to smile at Rachel, but it must have looked more like a grimace because she just frowned at him.

“And this is serious?” She asked.

Blaine looked at Kurt and they both shrugged. “No idea,” Blaine said.

“But it could be.” Kurt looked at Blaine, his smile more adoring than Blaine expected.

“Yeah,” he smiled right back at Kurt, reaching for his hand on the table. “It could be.”

Rachel looked hard at them both, then burst into a beaming smile.

"I am so happy you guys!" She stood and came around the table, gathering both of them into her arms. "I love you both so much, I want you both to be the happiest boys in the world. And I think you're perfect for each other." She kissed them both on the head. "But I swear to god Kurt, f you ever stay out all night again and forget to call me I am going to put a GPS chip in your shoulder."

"Wait a minute. You're fine with us being together?" Blaine asked.

Rachel shook her head. "Why wouldn't I be. You're both grown ups."

Blaine looked at Kurt. "She's fine with this Kurt."

"Yes, yes, I heard."


End file.
